The device as described in the appended application is a device used to assist patients recovering from knee surgery. More particularly, the device is a medical therapy apparatus used to assists patients recover the range of movement in the knee joint after injury or surgery.
Following trauma, such as an injury or surgery, a patient will lose range of motion in the effected joint. Most frequently, the loss of range of movement is a result of trauma to the muscles, tendons, or ligaments. Frequently, the effected body parts must be forcibly stretched to regain the pre-trauma range of movement. The forceful stretching often requires that the joint be moved to or beyond a point of maximum comfortable extension and then either held in that position or moved further to stretch the effected muscles, tendons, or ligaments. The stretching must be controlled, as too great of stretching or too forceful of stretching will at least inhibit healing, if not re-injure the joint.
One of the difficulties of rehabilitation is for the patient to recover the loss of motion that the surgery or illness has taken. In the past, physical therapy has been used to restore the range of motion. However, physical therapy usually requires repetitive movement of the effected joint, often to the limits of motion and beyond, which all too frequently is both painful and time-consuming. So long as a physical therapist is assisting the patient with the prescribed exercises, recovery will proceed. However, when the exercises are not performed or performed improperly, the process of recovery slows or ceases.
An additional problem that may be encountered is that following an injury or surgery the knee joint may become unstable and the exercises are even more difficult to perform due to the instability. When another person assists the patient in performing the exercises, the other person may stabilize the joint so that the movement remains in the correct plane and the correct direction and no additional harm occurs to the joint. However, when the patient is exercising alone they do not have the luxury of the assistant and it becomes more difficult to perform the exercises. As a result, the patient may either not perform the exercises, or perform the exercises incorrectly. The results of either option are not conducive to recovery for the patient. With the reduction of length of hospital stays, and the increase in home health care a need for a simple device used to assist a patient with their therapy to regain the range of movement in the effected joint has become necessary.
Previously, other devices have been developed that attempt to resolve the problems. Some of the devices are complex and expensive and therefore are better suited for hospital use in a physical therapy department. This class of devices is beyond the cost that most patients can incur.
Presently, when the exercises are being done in a home environment, there are no appliances available to assist either the patient or the home health care professional with the therapy necessary to assist the patient in regaining the range of motion that the patient once had.
Without any suitable appliances to assist the patient, the patients must make do with their own ingeniousness, which often means that the patient must bend their body into an uncomfortable position and, from the uncomfortable position, urge their knee into a further bent position without twisting or otherwise moving the knee improperly. This task, all too often proves to be so difficult that the patient does not do the exercises and fails to regain the range of motion that the patients enjoyed before the injury or surgery.
The leg stretcher, as described herein, is a padded appliance for placement behind the knee and lower leg to support and guide the lower leg as the knee is moved through a range of movement. There is a planet olanar leg support mechanism for supporting the lower leg, having a cushioning mechanism formed on one end. The cushioning mechanism is provided to increase the comfort of the patient during use.
The leg stretcher may be attachable to the patient""s leg to provide further comfort and utility. The leg stretcher may be attached using an attachment mechanism, such as flexible straps. The leg stretcher may include a strap that extends around the leg of the patient and the appliance itself allowing the patient to more easily reach the strap. Pulling on the strap will cause increased movement in knee joint without forcing the patient into an unduly uncomfortable position.
A feature of the leg stretcher is to provide an appliance for stabilizing a body limb while exercising to regain the pre-trauma range of motion.
It is another feature of the leg stretcher to provide an appliance that reduces the opportunity to perform prescribed exercises incorrectly.
It is still another feature of the leg stretcher to provide an appliance that enhances a patient""s ability to perform prescribed exercises without assistance from another person.